


A Proposal

by lookoutforburningbuildings



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Adoptive Parents - Freeform, Brotherly Affection, Brotherly Love, Discussions of Dead People, Fluff, Gen-Z/Millennial Humor, Good Parent Hank Anderson, Internal Monologue, M/M, Marriage Proposal, Mentions of Shovel Talk, edit: theres no secondhand embarassment in this btw. just thought id let you know, im sorry for adding simarkus angst to this its only like 4 paragraphs, the last chapter is so cheesy i forgot i was writing it when i proofread it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-26
Updated: 2018-09-27
Packaged: 2019-07-18 00:02:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 9,685
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16106537
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lookoutforburningbuildings/pseuds/lookoutforburningbuildings
Summary: So, he had this somewhat figured out. He needed to scout out the park for a bit and figure out the best time and day to do it there. He needed to get a ring, whatever style Connor might like and in his size. Then, he had to consult his friends and family. Then, after that, he had to just go through with the process. After that, they just have to fill out hella paperwork and then hold a wedding. Simple enough, right?Maybe.





	1. Markus

The year was 2049, and Markus was thinking. A dangerous hobby, he had learned over the years, but it was something he did a lot now. And this thing, he had been thinking about for almost weeks now. Usually, he was thinking about his work and political things, but right now, it was more about his personal life. To be much more specific, it was about his boyfriend, Connor, and their plans for the future.

He had discussed with Connor what they had wanted to do after a certain number of years, and many topics had come up. Travel, moving, pets, all that. Hell, they once even talked about what they were going to do once they started to shut down. That was a more profound conversation, but it was a nice one, actually. All the conversations and discussions they had were really nice. Gave insight into their relationship and personalities.

And there was one thing they discussed that Markus wanted to figure out about today.

It had been late at night, and the two were in Markus’ house after both having had a long day at their individual workplaces, and they decided to settle down and relax for a bit. They were sitting on the couch, the TV playing in the background, and Connor was laying against Markus’ chest, letting him hold him close. Their hands were together, and the synthetic skin had shed to show the porcelain white underneath, with hints of electric (hah) blue around the edges.

“Hey, Connor?” Markus asked, and Connor looked up to him from under his jaw. “What’s your opinion on marriage?” He asked. He saw his LED flash yellow at the last word, and he noticed how Connor titled his head like a dog, as if the thought had never crossed his mind.

“I don’t know.” Connor finally said after a moment. “I think it’s a nice thing. We went to Traci and Talli’s wedding, and I thought that was really sweet. A bit awkward for me, but still sweet.” He explained. “I think it’s a good thing. But, only couples who have been together for long enough to know they’re going to stay together should do it.”

“That’s reasonable.” Markus nodded, looking up to the news channel playing on the TV, not really bothering to focus in on it, just read the words appearing on the screen. “I think somewhat the same. If you know you’re going to keep the marriage, then you should do it. But, I think couples should have discussions about that kind of thing before going through with it.”

“So, no surprise proposals or anything?” Connor asked.

“Well, not like that. Proposals can be a surprise, but engagement shouldn’t be.” Markus started. “Have a long conversation about ‘hey, would you say yes?’ and all that before you start to plan a proposal.” He explained. “But, hey, sometimes things happen and they tend to work out.”

Connor hummed. “So, if I were to propose to you, would you say yes?” He asked. Markus paused for a moment before smiling softly, a bit fondly.

“Yes.” He answered. “I’ll tell you if I change my mind, but vice versa, would you?”

“Yes.” Connor said. “And if I ever change my mind about that, I’ll definitely tell you.”

That had been a month back, and Connor’s opinion hadn’t changed. And if it did, he had lied about that last part. But, he figured the latter wasn’t the case. The reason Markus had been thinking about this was probably obvious by this point, but he still wasn’t sure himself if he was going to go through with the idea. After all, his opinion didn't change one bit.

Markus sighed, sitting up in his bed and looking out the window. It was a nice day out. He should go for a walk and think this all over. He got out of bed and cracked his neck, grabbing a fresh change of clothes before walking down the hall and down the staircase. He said a quick goodbye and gave a small explanation of where he was going to Leo, who simply nodded him off, and went out the door.

Walking down the streets in Summer was a nice experience, but it wasn’t time to think about all that. He wanted to think about this whole engagement thing and if he was really gonna do it. He stared down at the sidewalk in front of him and went deep into thought, basically running on autopilot now.

Did he want to marry Connor? That was the question here, and Markus had known the answer: yes. He honestly really wanted to, and he already knew what Connor’s opinion on it was. He loved Connor, he really did. He had known that for a long time, and their relationship started almost a year after they first met. They had kept the relationship secret at first, but a few months in, they just couldn't hide it anymore. Almost everyone had caught on, so they told them. At least, they told their friends and families. They would never reveal that to the media, knowing America.

So, if he already loved Connor and they both knew that, why did he want to get married? Simple. He had seen people who were dating both before and after marriage, and they looked a lot more happy about it afterwards. He wanted to prove to his boyfriend that he really loved him that much. Plus, it had been a few years already, so he knew that these feelings were staying. So, of course he wanted to marry Connor. He wanted to make that official through law, not just their feelings.

But there was a lot of struggle with marriage. He had asked Traci and Talli about it, as they had gotten married not too long ago once it was legal, and they had told him that, while it was worth it, there was a lot of preparation and planning that went into both the proposal and the wedding. Lots of paperwork (though, Markus was used to paperwork now), and a whole lot of legal struggle, them being lesbian androids, and all. Markus figured that if it was really all worth it like they had said, that would be fine by him.

First step of this: Planning. He needed to get everything worked out beforehand. He needed to figure out when and where, all the stuff about the ring, everything like that. He knew a couple more private places, like the one park Connor and he went to a lot. It wasn't exactly private, but it wasn't very well known, so it wasn't exactly public. They couldn't do the proposal where they had first met, after all, though that would be hilarious. He could do it at New Jericho, though. No, that was too public for that kind of thing. He didn't need random people coming by and interrupting. So, maybe the park would be best.

Ring size would be easy, he could just scan Connor’s hands to get the size and figure out everything there quickly. But the ring part was more difficult. He knew a place to buy rings, he had gone with Traci when she got her ring (though, as North would tell him in fear later in the day, she had gone with Talli the same day for the same thing at a different store. They almost cried laughing when it all sunk in). He didn't know what kind of style Connor might like, but he'd figure that out once he was at the store, probably. 

Then he thought about how he would tell people if they did marry. He would be wearing a ring too, so the word would probably get out very fast. The media is fucking wild in Detroit, he'd learned. He made one joke about having a boyfriend and Simon had posted a transcript to Twitter  _ as a joke _ and he got spammed with notifications about it. Jesus, he hated being so popular. That thought made him chuckle to himself. Only had himself to blame for that one. But, the media was a big problem here. He could probably get through it just by not saying who his husband (that word made him feel giddy) was. At least, not for a while.

Now, to figure out how it would all happen was a bit more difficult. He could figure it out as it happened, but that wasn't much like either of them. They planned things ahead of time a whole lot. Maybe it would be nice to switch things up a bit? He'd think about how it all went once he was home again so he didn't get a headache.

Though, the next thing he had to think about made his head hurt all the same. He needed to ask for second opinions. He needed to ask people so he knew this was a good idea, and he needed to know if they were okay with it. He needed to ask Leo, that would be easier. He knew Leo well, he was family. It wouldn't be hard to just talk to him and ask “hey, what would you think of me proposing to my boyfriend?”. Then he should probably ask his circle of friends. He could ask Ralph, Rupert, Traci and Talli, Luther and Kara about it over messaging. No need to go out of his way. They weren't the main people he had to worry about. He needed to ask his Jericho-Crew. North, Josh and Simon. That would be so much harder. And then--shit, he had to ask Hank about it, too. Now, that would be a bit too hard for him. But, he could probably power through it and do it. He could suck it up for a bit.

Markus looked up, finding himself in the park nearby his house. Not the one he had planned to do it in, but one that he liked, nonetheless. He had gone here for his first day in the snow with Leo, mostly because he insisted they do, but he was still happy about it. He smiled and sat down on one of the park benches, watching as random passersby came across, some of them recognizing him as the one and only Markus Manfred. A few of them stopped so they could have a small conversation, and Markus was happy to oblige.

After a while, the park cleared out for the most part. So, he had this somewhat figured out. He needed to scout out the park for a bit and figure out the best time and day to do it there. He needed to get a ring, whatever style Connor might like and in his size. Then, he had to consult his friends and family. Then, after that, he had to just go through with the process. After that, they just have to fill out hella paperwork and then hold a wedding. Simple enough, right?

Maybe.


	2. Leo

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> don't come for me for adding leo to this  
> hES A GOOD BOY

Leo had a lot of sides to him, in Markus’ mind. At first, he didn’t like him. Then, once the revolution was over and Leo had left the mental hospital and had gotten clean, he saw the man in a different light. He saw him for who he really was. A smart kid, addicted to drugs who just missed his father. Markus could relate to one of those things. 

After Leo moved back into Carl’s house with Markus, the two had gotten a lot closer. After all, Carl considered them to technically be brothers. Markus could remember the small sentences that he had said before dying. Mostly things about how he was proud of him, and hoped he did good things. Another thing he had said before all that, though, as that he wanted Markus to get along with Leo. For his sake.

Markus couldn’t argue with that. And, after talking to Leo and living with him for a while, he slowly gained a better relationship with the man. He saw a lot of pieces of Leo, and Leo saw a lot of pieces of him. They had both had their shares of panic attacks and breakdowns that the other had seen. They’d seen each other vulnerable and scared. They’d seen each other at their best, too. They’d seen a lot of each other.

And Markus loved Leo. He was his brother, after all.

“I still don't understand this part.” Leo admit, looking up from the piano keys to Markus, who was sitting beside him. Markus gave him a patient smile and looked back to the sheet, reviewing what they had done so far. Markus had been teaching Leo piano because he had said before that music was a good distraction for him, and he'd love to play music some day. Well, why wait?

“We can take a break, if you want.” Markus suggested. Leo nodded, making him chuckle. “Alright.” He said. Leo sighed, standing up from the seat and stretching. 

“So, what? You were just programmed to know how to play the piano?” Leo asked, taking a step away from the piano, and looking over the bookshelf nearby.

“Yep.” Markus nodded. “Kamski knew how much Carl loved music.” He explained. He noticed how Leo's smile twitched to a frown for a moment. Fuck, don't bring up Carl, bad idea bad idea. “It's also a nice way to pass the time.” He said, taking the subject another direction.

“It's kind of difficult, don't you think?” Leo asked, picking up one of the books and reading the summary on the inside cover. “I mean, it takes quite an amount of skill, y’know?’” Markus almost laughed at that. Everything was difficult after he got emotions. Even the things that Leo said he was amazing at.

Markus just had to figure out what Leo’s reaction might be to the news. You couldn’t pre-construct options for dialogue. That was a completely different thing. Sometimes, he wished he could, though. Leo was currently still looking at the books. He made everything stop for him and just watched for a moment, thinking. He loved doing this. Gave him time to prepare himself, and it gave him the option to just step away from all conversation and cool down for a moment. He studied how intensely focused Leo was on reading the one summary.

He couldn’t move, or that would disrupt the pause, but he was really close to just biting his tongue so he wasn’t so stressed over this. He thought about his word choice carefully, hoping for some kind of moment of courage to overtake him. He led a revolution, but he couldn’t ask his damn brother about what he thought of him proposing to his damn boyfriend.

“Yeah…” Markus trailed off, standing up as well. “Hey, Leo?” He finally said after a long moment of silence and walking around the room. Leo looked up from one of the books, making a small hum in response. “I have something to ask you about.” 

He noticed how Leo glanced to the right, probably trying to recollect if he had done something wrong in the past week. Poor guy. “...Continue…” Leo said, slowly nodding and looking back to Markus.

Markus bit the inside of his cheek before he said it. This was harder than he'd thought. He sucked it up.

“If I were to tell you that I planned to propose to Connor, what would you say?” Leo obviously was not expecting that question, because his expression was surprised and he let out a tiny gasp, making Markus smile.

“Are you dead serious?” He asked, his tone a bit hushed. Markus couldn't help but laugh a little as he nodded. Leo's look of confusion shifted to a smile, and he instantly put the book down. “Markus, if you tell me you're joking, I might just punch you. Are you being serious?” He asked.

“I'm being serious, Leo!” Markus said, grinning. “Honestly though, what would you say?”

“Fuck--I don't know what to say other than you should absolutely go for it!” He exclaimed. “Dude, you're actually planning on this?” He asked, walking over to the couch Markus had been sitting down on.

“Yeah, I just have to buy a ring and all that!” He said, still laughing about how shocked Leo had seemed. He laughed harder once Leo had thrown an arm around his neck, pulling him a bit closer. “I'm actually gonna go through with it, I just need to get second opinions.” He explained. 

“My opinion is fuckin’ do it!” Leo said. “You two have been together for years now, I can't see a reason why you shouldn't!”

Markus would've given a suggestion, if Leo hadn't pulled his arm away and shifted to sit cross legged and facing him. “Alright alright, talk to me. Tell me about how you decided you were gonna do this.” He said. Markus made an elongated ‘uhm’ noise as he shifted his position too to do that same as Leo. 

“Well, Connor and I had one of our discussions a few months back about the whole topic of marriage and shit.” Markus started, and already, Leo was interrupting with a few words.

“Of course you were, you fuckin’ nerds.” He said in a fake whisper, making Markus laugh again.

“Shut up.” He said, pointing at Leo to add to the joke. Leo pointed back at him, raising an eyebrow. The two just laughed and went back to talking. “And, like, in the beginning, I thought nothing of it, like it was just a topic for the future.” He said. “But, after a while, I just could not get the thought out of my head.”

“How long have you two been together, again?” Leo asked.

“About…” He thought for a moment. He couldn’t seem to calculate the exact amount of years, but it had been a while. “Since 2039.”

“Damn.” Leo muttered. “So, you just decided to propose?” He asked, still smiling.

“Well, no, I’ve been thinking about it for a month now.” He clarified. “So, it wasn’t a spontaneous decision. I just recently figured out that I should just do it.” He explained. “I know a place to get the ring, I went ring shopping with Traci when she needed to go.”

  
“Do you, like, have the whole location thing planned out?” Leo asked.

“Yep.” Markus nodded. “I know what day it’ll be, too.” He paused for a moment. “I need to ask you something about that, actually.” He whispered. Leo raised an eyebrow. “Could you find a way to be away from the house on the day I do propose? Possibly the day after, too?” 

“Bitch, I will clear my plans for the entire week if I have to.” Leo said. Markus laughed again. “If you really need to out of the house, I will leave, trust me.” He let a smaller smile play at his lips. “And I will not tease you about the fact you’re probably planning to have sex while I’m gone.” Markus instantly, no hesitation, pushed Leo by his arm and off the couch.

“Shut up!” He yelled despite his smile. Leo curled in on himself, now laughing on the floor. “You are horrible! That’s not the fucking plan!”

“You never know!” He exclaimed, leaning back and laying on the floor, arms resting behind his head. “Sometimes this happen and then things happen!” He said. Markus pushed his foot into Leo’s stomach, making his knees jump upwards, and him yelp. “Come on, you know it’s true!” He said, sitting up and grabbing onto Markus’ leg, trying to pull him off as well. 

“You act like I want my brother knowing that information!” Markus exclaimed.

“What, that you’re fucking your boyfriend?!” He asked, managing to make Markus fall onto the floor too. The two were laughing on the floor now, both moving to sit against the couch. They eventually were just sitting on the ground, staring off into the distance. Leo moved a bit closer and laid his head onto Markus’ shoulder. There was a long moment of silence before Leo broke it with something Markus did not expect to hear from this conversation. “Do you think dad would be proud of us?” 

Markus looked down, seeing Leo pick at the scabs on his knuckles from when he had chewed them enough to break skin. Markus moved Leo’s hand away from the now bleeding scratch, and he could hear him sigh. “I think dad would be very proud.” He responded, a bit quiet. “I think he’d love to see how we’ve gotten along.” He paused, biting his lip. “Do you think he’d be proud of me? I always...doubt the things he told me.”

“I think he’d be proud of you. Proud to see all the shit you’re doing and all the people you’re helping.” Leo smiled softly, putting his hand on Markus’. “I think he’d like your friends, and your boyfriend. Or, soon-to-be-fiance.” He smiled and tightened his grip on Leo’s hand. “I think...he’d love to see you again. And I know that you’d love to see him again.”

“I think he’d love to see you again, too.” Markus said. “I know you do, as well. I think he’d love to see how far you’ve come. See the person you are now. He’d be very proud of you, I know that much. He told me that he wished he could’ve seen you out of the hospital.”

“I think...dad would’ve loved to meet Connor.” Leo said. “You made a good choice with that one. He’s a great conversationalist, and he’s really passionate. He would’ve loved the guy.”

“Do you think he’d be proud of me planning to marry him?” He asked.

“Abso-fucking-lutely.” Leo laughed, sitting back up again. “He would’ve been so damn proud, dude.”

Markus smiled. At least he was sure of something in this process other than going through with it.


	3. Jericho

Markus was a bit slower at this game of cards, and wasn't playing as passionately as he usually did. He was a bit caught up with his thinking. This would prove to be probably the second hardest set of people to ask about it. That was mostly because a month before Connor and Markus announced to the crew they were dating, Simon had confessed to Markus that he liked him but knew it would never happen. 

What an opener.

But it was true. Simon had been upfront and told Markus his feelings, and that he knew it wasn’t reciprocated, and that he just wanted Markus to be happy. He had told everyone he was in ‘a relationship’ but he had never specified who with. Then, a month after this, Connor had accidentally made a joke about them dating, and the two announced it a while afterwards. Simon was a bit upset about it, but he had pushed through it and been a good guy about it.

He had been a bit awkward about it at first, but he stopped caring after a while. Maybe the feelings had passed. Markus wasn’t sure, but Simon had stopped acting so weird over it, and in fact, started making jokes. They were the usual weird Gen-Z humor he had, and sometimes he made them at the expense of himself. It made Markus feel a bit strange at first too, but Simon had come up to him after one of their meetings and told him that everything was fine and he was allowed to laugh. Apparently, the feelings  _ did  _ pass. Simon had even told him that he had eyes on someone else.

Markus was glad Simon had moved on. He was also glad that Josh had seemed a lot more tolerant of Simon’s shit, and had instead looked at him with fondness during them.

North and Josh were different stories than Simon. 

Josh was a pacifist and was generally a nice guy. He made a lot of jokes, which were much different than Simon’s, and he liked to make people laugh. He rarely joked about relationships, except when making the dumb ‘are you cheating on me?’ joke whenever North said anything about her friendships with others. He’d remembered Josh’s LED spinning yellow and flashing red when North had made the joke back at him as he processed it. It made everyone laugh, because he was so adamant about making that joke. A taste of his own medicine, really. But he was a great guy, and loved to listen. God, he didn’t talk much, but damn could he listen. 

Markus remembered the times the gang had played ‘dont’ laugh’ and ‘Cards Against Humanity’. It was hilarious watching Josh laugh at the dumbest things and how he would instantly look to North when a horribly offensive card was played. He also remembered that once Markus had told him he could just swallow the water he had to keep in his mouth for ‘don’t laugh’, Josh had instead looked him dead in the eyes and spit the water at him.

He also remembered the day he had gone over to Josh’s house and found a large maine coon sleeping on his bed. Markus had asked him why he got a cat, but Josh would only respond with ‘I named her Noodle’. Noodle was a good cat.

Then, there was North. She had been through hell with where she’d came from before all this, and managed to recover quickly (with the help of a therapist android. Quoting her, ‘I will never take help from a fucking human’). She obviously had trouble with humans. She was also a bit...violent. Not that she would willingly kill a man with no remorse, it was more that she had strange ways of getting what she had wanted. It wasn’t that she had no moral compass, she just had been through some tough times that made her a bit rough.

She was nice, though. She was really kind to the Jericho crew, aside from horrible jokes. Oh yeah, there was the horrible and offensive jokes. She liked to make jokes at her own expense, and she liked to make fun of everyone for everything, as long as it didn’t make them uncomfortable or upset. She was good about that, she really was. Every time Connor voiced that a joke had made him feel bad, she would profusely apologize and never make a joke like it again.

North was one of Connor’s close friends, believe it or not. She scared him at first, but they quickly realized they had a lot in common and that they liked a lot of the same things. They would discuss true crime for hours on end, and would even jokingly discuss the best way to kill a man. It was all in good fun, though. 

She also had the same Gen-Z humor as Simon, which was horrible. 

The crew must have noticed how distracted Markus was, because North had finally said something. “You doin’ alright there, Markus?” She asked, making everyone stop their playing of the game. “You look sad. Either that or in thought.” He looked up from his hand of cards, seeing everyone watching him expectantly. He sighed and shrugged. “You got somethin’ to say?” She asked.

“Well...yeah.” Markus nodded, sitting up straight. “I have something to tell all you guys.”

“Oh shit, he’s dying.” Simon said in a fake hushed tone, making Josh punch him in the shoulder. Simon held his hands up defensively, and quickly realized he was holding his cards out for everyone to see. He slammed his deck on the table, face-side-down. “Alright, what’s up, buddy?”

Markus bit his lip. It seemed easier to tell them than Leo, but he knew that these guys had responses in store. “What would you guys say if I told you I planned to propose to Connor?” He said, finally. Their expressions instantly changed, and Markus had to hold back a laugh at how shocked they looked. He watched as North and Simon looked towards each other, as if for confirmation on what he had just said. 

“Are you joking?” North asked, raising her eyebrows. Markus slowly shook his head, starting to sink down so he was almost under the table. “No--Get back here, you asshole!” She shouted, making the two others laugh. Markus looked up, expecting her to be angry, but she was actually smiling and looked excited. “Are you serious?!” She asked.

“I’m not joking.” Markus said, reaching into his bag he usually carried with him to New Jericho, and pulled out the box he had bought the ring in. He put it on the table, and opened it, letting the others see.

“This isn’t a joke?” Josh asked, looking almost scared for a moment that it was a joke.

“Why would I buy a legitimate ring for a fucking joke?!” They all must have scanned the ring for a moment, because they all paused with their LEDs turning yellow. Markus laughed, covering his mouth and watching as they all looked up to him, tow of their jaws dropped. It was silent for a long time. “I’m being serious.” He finally whispered.

That must have set it off that he was actually not kidding, because North started breathlessly laughing, looking up to him in surprise. “Dude!” She shouted, standing up from her seat, grinning wide. It finally clicked with Josh and Simon and they both smiled as well, not exactly having such a big reaction like North did, but still having reactions.

“Oh my god!” Simon exclaimed, covering his mouth with his hands. He pulled them down and looked Markus dead in the eyes. “This better not be a joke, I swear--”

“Once again!” Markus yelled (well, none of them were yelling, really. Jericho was still a public place. They were just raising their voices a bit), interrupting Simon. “Real ring, right here!”

“Markus, what the fuck!” Josh was smiling despite what he said. 

“Well, what would you say?” He asked, chuckling. Josh made a ‘wha--’ noise and held his arms in a questioning gesture, looking to the other two.

“I--Congratulations? I don’t fucking know!” Josh exclaimed. “You can’t just casually bring that shit up!” 

“I mean, he just did.” Simon said, pointing at him and tilting his head. Josh sputtered, looking to North, who just shrugged. “Markus, that’s fucking amazing!” He said, interrupting what Josh was trying to say. Markus smiled a bit wider, because that was coming from Simon.

“If I have to record a proposal again, I’ll--...I mean, I’d gladly do it, I don’t know where this was going.” North’s words trailed off into a mutter, and the other three started laughing again. “But, shit, dude, I get to see four of my good friends get married throughout my life!”

“I’m still not over the delivery of that!” Josh said. “You can’t just say shit like that randomly! You’ve gotta build it up and whatever!” Markus kept laughing. “I am not over this! Markus, I am putting my foot down!” Josh stomped on the ground for emphasis. “You cannot just bring serious things up like that!”

“Damn.” Markus said, looking to North and putting a hand behind his ear to signal he was about to say something horrible. “I was gonna bring up my dead dad next!”

“Markus!” Simon yelped. North and Markus both broke into laughter. “That was way too far!” He exclaimed.

“You’ve joked about eating dog shit, let him bring up his dead dad!” North said, clapping in between the words. Josh started laughing about that now, covering his face with his hand. “But, deadass, Markus, I am so fucking excited for you!” She said.

“You can’t say deadass when congratulating someone on planning to propose, North.” Simon said, holding a hand out, making a motion like he was leveling sand or something. “Not how it works.”

“Suck a dick, Simon.” North rolled her eyes. “So, how long have you been planning this?” She asked, looking back to Markus.

“Yeah, how long have you been not telling us?” Josh asked, narrowing his eyes. Markus could tell he was joking, and was lucky he had that power. Connor didn’t, at least not all of the time, and it was horrible for North, Josh and Simon, who loved to pretend being angry.

“About a month now. I bought the ring a few days back.” He explained, shrugging. Josh made another noise of confusion, holding his arms out. “Stop T-posing, Josh! We’re not in beta anymore!”

“I’m giving myself to the  _ Lord _ .” He said, extending the last word, making Simon cackle endlessly. North slammed her face into her hand, probably for also laughing at such a stupid joke.

“He’s doing the ‘slenderman says gay rights’ T-pose!” Simon exclaimed. “Josh, Josh, say it, man! You gotta!” He hounded, and after a while (still holding the damn pose), Josh obliged.

“Gay rights!” Josh said a bit loudly. Markus hit his head against the table, a bad habit when he laughed. He tended to just lean forward so much he would just hit his head on things. It wasn’t necessarily a bad thing, at least it had never seemed to be. Josh let his arms fall back down and laughed. “But, no kidding, Markus. You can’t bring up serious shit like that so casually.”

“But mom!” Markus whined, making Simon and North both laugh. “Okay, I won’t, trust me. If you react like this to that, I’ll never vent to you ever again.” 

“Markus, I just want to say real quick.” Simon cut in, holding an arm out to the center of the table, twisting the box around to face him. “That is one cool fucking ring.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> them boys and gal? making horrible jokes during a serious discussion? me.


	4. Hank

This would be one of the hardest things Markus had done, and he led a fucking revolution.

It is common tradition, among many, to ask the parent of the person you plan to marry for permission before doing such a deed. Maybe Markus should’ve done this before he bought the ring, but there was no time to think about that. Because Connor was out of earshot, and Markus was left alone with Hank.

Markus paused everything (thank rA9 for this ability, it was such a gift), and looked over Hank for a moment. He knew about the man, and had talked to him on many occasions and held some good conversations with him. He never really got on Hank’s bad side, at least he hoped he didn’t. The only time he could really consider him on his bad side was when he got the shovel talk. He actually might get that again, considering what he was about to ask. Kamski probably had a lot of plans in mind for Markus, and getting nervous over asking the father if you could marry his son was not one of them.

He thought for a moment, thinking about what he would say. Probably what he had said to the other people he told (and, yes, he told Ralph, Rupert, Traci and Talli), but he could change it up, maybe. Maybe he shouldn’t. He didn’t know, god, he had no fucking idea what he was doing. He had to get himself together, and quick, because he couldn’t stay paused forever. He unpaused and took a deep breath, scanning the room to see how far Connor was and how much he might hear. He triple checked and confirmed Connor would not be able to hear this.

“Hank, can I ask you a question while Connor isn’t here?” Markus said after a moment of hesitation. Hank looked over to him, furrowing his eyebrows in confusion. Just one look and damn, Markus was found dead in Miami. This was not gonna be an easy task.

“Yeah, what’s up?” He asked. “Is this somethin’ I’m gonna need to keep from Connor?” Oh, Hank, you have no idea. You have absolutely no clue how much you’re gonna have to keep this from Connor if you’re okay with it. Markus sighed.

“Depends on how you react.” He muttered. This must have had Hank even more interested, because he raised his eyebrows now. Markus took a deep inhale, biting on the inside of his cheek. “What would you say if I told you I planned to propose to Connor?” He said in mostly one breath. He kept his eyes trained on the ground, turning his visual input off for a moment. He turned it back on and looked up to Hank, seeing his surprised reaction.

“Are you serious?” Hank asked, shifting so he was sitting up straight. Markus swallowed hard, this was so much more anxiety-inducing than he had originally thought. He thought it would be one tough conversation and then it’d be fine, but no, this was so much more difficult.   
  
“Every person I’ve told has asked me that same question, I swear to you.” Markus said, laughing quietly. “But, yes, I’m being dead serious.” He answered, glancing around the room for a moment, as if looking for a way to make this much less awkward.

Hank seemed to take a moment to process this information before he grinned. “Are you basically asking if you can marry my son?” He asked.

“Well, I’m not just gonna marry him without telling you I intend to do so.” He muttered, trying to get everything he was saying out quickly. He didn’t know how much longer Connor would be out of the room for. “That’d kind of be a dick move.” Hank laughed and nodded. “So...what would your opinion on it be?”

“Kid, go for it. I want Connor to be happy as much as you do, so if you really think this’ll be the best thing, then do it.” Hank said, smiling. Markus felt himself smiling as well, letting out a small laugh in the form of a breath. “If you want me to, I’ll even call him out for the day. I’m sure the Captain won’t give a shit if I explain what’s happenin’.” He paused for a moment. “If you’re okay with me telling him, that is.”

“Yeah, I mean, as long as he doesn’t tell everyone, I don’t care.” Markus shrugged. “It would be great if you could call him out for the day after it happens. I can message you what the day is so you won’t forget.”

“That’d work.” Hank nodded. “Also, if I need to give you the shovel talk again, I will.” He said, pointing at him accusingly. Markus chuckled nervously, making Hank break his tough guy facade and laugh as well. “So, you have this all planned out, like, fully?” He asked.

Markus nodded. “Yep. I just need to go through with it all.” He replied, glancing over to the TV that had the movie it was playing currently paused. Connor had paused it so he could leave the room to find something. As long as he was out of the room, Markus didn’t care what he was doing. “Then we can plan everything else out and do all that damned paperwork.” That made Hank laugh again.

“You’ve got a big storm comin’, kid.” He muttered, shaking his head. “You know, you’re a good guy, Markus.” He said. “I’m glad Connor found you, and that everythin’s been working out for you two.” Markus smiled a bit bashfully, looking down to the ground in front of his feet. “If this is really what you want to do, and you know the kid’ll say yes, then do it. Hell, I’m sure he’ll say yes. He does seem to like you a lot.” With a simple wink, the conversation died as Connor walked back into the room and the two pretended that nothing had even happened.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :)


	5. Connor

Today was the day. Leo was out of the house for the next few days, and Hank had already called in about tomorrow. It was time.

Markus was waiting in his house. He had messaged Connor that, after work, he should come down for a spend-the-night. Connor was more than happy to agree, probably overworked and tired. Poor guy. He sat on the couch, tapping his fingers against the back of it, arm stretched behind it, as if putting an arm around somebody. He bit his lip nervously, watching the turned down TV, hoping for it to be some kind of distraction away from the anxiety bubbling in where his stomach would be if he had one.

He heard the door knob jiggle and looked over, seeing Connor stepping through the doorway, smiling the second he saw Markus. “Hey, Con.” He said, trying to seem somewhat casual. He moved his arm to lay at his side, letting Connor shut the door and walk over to him, groaning as he sat down next to him. “Tough day?” He asked, putting an arm around his boyfriend instead. Connor hummed and nodded, laying his head against Markus’ shoulder. “Don’t fall asleep too quick, babe. I was thinking we could go for a walk down to that park again today.” He suggested.

“Yeah, that sounds nice.” Connor mumbled. “I’m just really stressed out. Rude people at scenes and all that.” He stretched his arm out before using it to hold onto Markus’ hand. “Why do such horribly rude people have to be so damn loud?” He asked.

“I don’t know. It sucks, though. I get exactly the kind of people you’re talking about.” He said, tightening his grip on Connor’s hand, partially to remind himself that this was real and that he was actually about to do this. “I work in politics, the workplace is full of angry rich assholes who think they know everything.” Connor chuckled and rolled his eyes. Markus really liked Connor’s eyes (though, Connor would say the same about him). They were a nice shade of brown, and you could almost see hints of yellow in them if you saw them in the correct light.

“Well, you aren’t wrong.” He shrugged, moving his neck in a circle to make a silent cracking noise. Markus cringed, and it just made Connor laugh again. “Come on, you have to get used to that someday.” Markus shook his head, making an ‘mh-mh’ noise. The noise became more intense when Connor cracked his neck again in an attempt to torment him. Connor just laughed louder. He loved that laugh a lot, and he couldn’t even explain why. It just made him feel floaty and happy, like ‘this is my fucking boyfriend, look at him!’. Not to mention, he wouldn’t need to say ‘boyfriend’ soon enough, if this went well. “Honestly, you’re right, I am tired. Let’s get to the park before I go into stasis.” He muttered.

“Yeah, that might be best.” Markus said, shrugging his shoulder to get Connor to stop laying on it, and removed his arm from around him, pulling his hand away from Connor’s, which seemed to linger for a moment before he had finally fully let go. Connor sat up straight and stretched out his back and arms, making a loud breathy noise. Markus smiled fondly at him and let him stand up first before he did as well. “Is it cold out?” He asked.

“No, it shouldn’t be. But since it’s getting late, you might wanna bring a coat, just in case.” Connor suggested. Markus nodded, grinning to himself, having to bite his cheek to keep himself in check. The two walked over to the doorway, and Markus grabbed a specific coat from the rack, putting it on and checking inside the pockets to make sure the box could fit. He slyly pulled it from his jean pocket and slowly put it in the jacket pocket as Connor talked. “So, is Leo gone today? I didn’t see his car in the driveway.”

“Yeah, he’s gonna be gone for a couple days. Some kind of business stuff. I didn’t fully pay attention to what he had said.” Markus said, lying through his teeth. He was lucky Connor wasn’t looking at him, or he would’ve caught it, being a programmed detective and all. Connor chuckled at the fact he said he wasn’t listening. It wasn’t like him to not listen, but when it came to friends and family, he could probably ignore them all day if he had to. He only did it as a joke, most of the time. “Yeah, I know.” He muttered, keeping his hands in his pockets. “Let’s get going.”

Connor nodded and pulled open the door, letting them both step outside before he shut it again. He looked at Markus, as if scanning his face for a moment, before he smiled fondly and held his hand out, which he gladly took into his. He was holding Connor’s hand with one, and the box with the ring inside in the other. He’d be lucky if he didn’t accidentally pull out the box at any point during today at the wrong time. The two started walking and talking as they went down the streets.

“I can’t tell you about cases, but this case reminded me of a specific one.” Connor said. Markus hummed and nodded, watching his face intently as Connor started explaining. One thing Markus really loved about Connor was how passionate he was about his special interests. And those just so happened to be true crime and human anatomy. “You’ve ever heard about JonBenet Ramsey?” He asked. Markus made a quick search.

He raised an eyebrow. “I can already tell this case must’ve been horrible.” He said, frowning.

“Yeah, it was really bad.” Connor said through grit teeth. “I can’t go into detail about this case, but I will go into detail about the other one, if you feel like listening.”  He looked up from the ground and towards Markus, looking for some kind of reaction. Markus could never say no. He loved to hear about whatever was on Connor’s mind. He liked to listen to him ramble on. He’d look spaced out and really intensely focused at the same time. It was a good look on him.

“Go ahead.” Markus said, smiling again. Connor nodded and started talking, explaining the details of a murder case. Markus didn’t mind graphic details and discussions when he would infodump. He really didn’t. It just never phased him, and it never struck him as weird that Connor was so interested in these things. Maybe it did to other people, but never to Markus. He just loved to listen. He caught himself staring at Connor’s focused expression, and only stopping himself when he looked in front of them to make sure they were going the right way and wouldn’t hit anything. After a few turns, they had made their way to the small private park.

Connor seemed to have noticed that they had hit the pitstop, and stopped his talking, looking over to Markus with a smile. “We have arrived at your destination.” He said, tone serious despite his smile. Markus scoffed and rolled his eyes. “You wanna talk about anything specific while we do our walk around?” He asked, tilting his head, almost like a dog would. It was cute. Endearing, really, Markus would say. 

He shrugged. “Anything you wanna discuss, really. I don’t mind.” He said. Connor nodded and looked around the area, noticing how it was empty. “Yeah, it seems really...abandoned, doesn’t it?” He asked, noticing the neutral expression on his face.

“Eh, I don’t mind it. It’s actually kind of nice.” Connor said. “I like quiet, even when the silence needs to be filled. It’s a good change from the screaming in my mind.” He joked. Markus hummed and nodded, squeezing his hand to get his attention. Once he had it, he have a soft smile and they started walking down their usual path. It was just a sidewalk that went around the park, hitting a swinging bench at some point. That was the destination.

The park was very nice in the summer. It was always so well taken care of, despite not many people being in or around it. The flowers were pretty and colorful, a nice mix of more light and neon colors. Pinks, purples, blues, all that on top of a green background. Connor had loved it here, he said, for that reason. The plants were there and it was always so beautiful. As an artist, Markus really liked it for that reason as well. It was such a wonderful scene. Markus sighed at some point in the walk, and Connor paused his talking to make sure he wasn’t upset or anything. Markus just laughed and said everything was fine. Because it was more than fine, right now.

They were approaching the swing bench, and Markus walked a bit slower, lagging behind. Connor paused his walking to turn and look back to him. “Are you sure everything is okay?” He asked.

“I’m alright. Just got a lot on my mind.” Markus said. It...wasn’t a lie. He was thinking about a lot. Mostly the anxiety that this situation held, but he kept his facade of being okay up. “Mostly thoughts of hashbrowns, for some reason.” He joked, making Connor roll his eyes (and, no, that was not really the case. Though, now that he mentioned it…). “Let’s go to the swingy-thingy.” He said. The two had never knew what to call the bench, so they mostly just called it by increasingly weirder names. The first red flag for Connor was how he didn’t call it something over-the-top. Well, that was more the third red flag, but whatever.

The two walked closer to it, Connor sitting down on the bench, letting Markus, who had lagged behind, catch up and sit down next to him. Connor swung his legs against the ground, scuffing up the fronts of his shoes in the process, but he didn’t seem to mind. He never did. Markus pushed his feet off the ground a bit, letting the swing, well, swing for a bit. They chatted about random subjects, mostly the work the two had gotten done in the past week (not exactly work work, but just work in general). Markus caught himself staring at Connor again, and smiled to himself, remembering the task he had to carry out.

He leaned forward, interrupting what he had been saying to kiss him. Connor obviously wanted to finish what he was saying, but reciprocated the kiss, putting his hand on top of Markus’. They pulled away and just looked at each other for a moment before giggling like two teenagers (honestly, with the times they were created, they were probably only ten or so. Let’s not get into that discussion). 

“I love you, y’know that, right?” Markus asked, tilting his head to rest on his own shoulder.

“I realize.” Connor nodded. “I love you too.” 

“I just don’t feel like I say it enough.” Markus said, shrugging before leaning back in to kiss him again. It was held for a moment longer than the last one, and Connor smiled at him in such a loving way. 

“You say it just enough that I know it’s true.” Connor muttered. They made eye contact for a moment, and Connor quickly looked away from his gaze. Markus shook his head, knowing it was nothing rude or bad. Connor just couldn’t stand eye contact sometimes (well, most of the time). It got in the way at work, but Markus didn’t mind it for one second. They sat there in mostly silence, bringing up small conversations to talk about for just a few minutes before they slowly dissipated. 

Connor sighed and cracked his neck again, making Markus cringe, but he didn’t tease him about it this time, instead standing up from the bench. Markus did as well, knowing he needed to do this now or never. Connor looked over to him, smiling at him, letting Markus take a step closer to him, taking his hands into his and pulling him into a gentle kiss, almost a nervous and unsure one, but the passion behind it was still there. Markus pulled away after a moment and smiled wider.

“Connor, I cannot imagine my life without you in it. You’ve made me much more of a better person.” Markus said, voice only slightly more hushed than its usual tone. “I’m really glad I was able to meet you, because, I swear, you changed my life.” Connor didn’t seem to notice the changes, and kept smiling at him, only shifting his expression when Markus chuckled to himself and sunk down to rest on one knee. His jaw dropped open ever so slightly and he covered his mouth with his hands. Markus didn’t know how he was keeping his composure when he pulled the box with the ring in it out. He was smiling wide, he knew that much, but other than that, he kept his composure. He couldn’t help but laugh when Connor started giggling, though, and slowly took a few steps back, as if in a daze. He was about to say those four words, but he just couldn’t manage to get the words out, because of the two’s laughing.

“Oh my  _ god. _ ” Connor muttered under his breath, making Markus laugh a bit harder. 

“Wel--” He barely finished his sentence before Connor interrupted him with the answer.

“ _ Yes! _ ” He exclaimed, taking the steps he had taken back forwards again, letting Markus stand up before throwing his arms around him, pulling him into another, much longer kiss. The kiss was less hesitant than the last, and more sure of itself being what it was. Markus moved his hands to wrap around Connor’s waist, pulling him in closer. He felt almost dizzy, but he could not be happier about it. They pulled away, in another daze as they laughed to themselves. Connor didn’t want to pull away, that was obvious, but he had to once Markus let go with lingering touches and held the open box up. 

He pulled the ring out of the box and shoved the box back into his pocket, closing it in the process. He held out his other hand, silently asking for Connor’s, and he happily obliged. Every touch was making his artificial heart pound harder in his chest. The pale and dark skin on their hands had shed away for the white underneath, not exactly of their own will, but they just let it happen. Markus slid the ring onto Connor’s finger, and once he had let go, the skin came back, growing under the metal. Connor laughed and pulled Markus into another embrace, smiling wide. 

Markus didn’t want to let go, either, but he pulled back after a moment. “We might wanna go back to the house...it’s really late.” He said, sounding breathless. He  _ felt _ breathless, unable to get any words out. Why was he so out of breath? He didn’t even have lungs! But now was not the time to think about that because Connor was nodding quickly, intertwining his hand with Markus’, and when he felt the metal of the ring against his hand, he just couldn’t help but smile widely.

God, the adrenaline was nowhere close to wearing off, and it gave Markus this light and floaty feeling. It was almost like he needed to breathe somehow, because he felt so breathless. Part of him wasn’t sure what to do, but the other part of him really wanted to just get home and kiss his damn fiance some more. And, honestly, that was the most he could think of doing at the moment. He didn’t care about it, he just wanted to show Connor affection and intimacy.

They walked through the remainder of the park, unsure of what to say, but they were communicating through images in their mental links. Talking through concepts, rather than through words. It was such a nice way of talking, just without the actual talking. After a moment of walking, almost near the exit, Connor paused, stopping his movements. Markus stopped as well, looking back to him, noticing his yellow LED. Connor looked at him and grinned.

“Hank knew about this?” He asked.

Markus couldn’t help but let out a little laugh. “Babe,  _ everybody  _ knew about it!” He exclaimed, making Connor stomp on the ground with one foot, looking at him with a completely done expression, only ruined by his smile. He let out the laughter still in his system. “Why do you think Leo’s out of town? He works in retail, Connor!”

“You--!” His words trailed off into a fake exasperated groan. 

“Were you messaging Hank?” Markus asked.

“I was gonna ask for tomorrow off. I already got it!” He said, raising his voice, making Markus laugh again. “I can not believe you managed to keep this a secret from me for…” He trailed off again. “Wait, how long have you been planning this?”

“A month.”

“ _ Jesus Christ. _ ” Connor breathed. He rolled his eyes and took Markus’ hand into his again. “God, usually you’re not this good with secrets!” He exclaimed as they kept walking, leaving the park. 

They continued on the discussion as they walked down the long sidewalks, making a few turns to arrive in the neighborhood again. They quieted down a bit, knowing there were children in the area who should be in bed, but continued talking. They had made it back to the house, and the second the door shut, Connor wrapped his arms around Markus’ neck, pulling him close so their foreheads touched, giggling all the while. “You’re adorable.” He muttered under his breath before kissing him again. The house was quiet, and you could hear a pin drop. They pulled away from the kiss, the silence being filled in with laughter and short one-worded sentences that neither of them could finish.

It was nice. A very calm moment in time, where the world around them seemed to disappear, and they could stay like this for however long they wanted. And they wanted to stay there for as long as possible. The two would be here throughout the night, and just kiss and laugh and hold onto one another. They didn’t need to do anything else, they just were there in that moment of time, happy together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yknow before I wrote this I was like "nah marriage is fake lol" but now I'm like "gotdamn,,,,,those funky little androids sure do love each other,,,,,,,"  
> anyways, thanks for reading this! I love these characters and this ship and I just had to write something about it! (mostly based off kinnie shit (I know, weird right?)) I hope you enjoyed!


End file.
